EMFs and their Negative Impact on the Health of Children

EMFs (Electromagnetic Fields) are emitted from power lines, electrical wires and from the vast collection of electrical, electronic and wireless devices that fill our modern homes. These health hazards include some of our favourite modern conveniences: laptop computers, energy-efficient compact fluorescent (CFL) lighting, cordless phones, Wi-Fi networks and smart phones.

Cumulative Exposure

Our electromagnetic environment is an important, but often-overlooked, component of environmental health. Our daily exposure to EMFs in the home continues to rise at an alarming rate, and this dramatic increase relates proportionally to the increase in many of today's increasing childhood ailments.

The body of empirical evidence confirms that EMF exposure causes serious health problems and damages human cells. Long-term exposure to electrical pollution is known to have a variety of adverse health effects including many types of cancer and chronic diseases.

EMFs interfere with our body’s natural processes including sleep, hormone production, our immune system and our ability to self-heal. EMFs from outside the body disrupt our body's natural balance and can play havoc with the millions of electrical impulses that the body uses to regulate all cellular activity. We are sensitive natural bioelectric beings.

Children are especially vulnerable

Children are more at risk than adults and many children are now developing electrical sensitivities. Unfortunately, they are especially vulnerable to EMFs because their nervous systems and brains are still developing. Children’s skulls are thinner and smaller, so the EMF radiation penetrates deeper into their brains. When they are young, their immune systems too, are not fully developed, so they are more susceptible to this toxin. Symptoms include: chronic fatigue, headaches, migraines, vertigo, tinnitus, arrhythmias, concentration and memory problems, learning and behavioral disorders, and a more frequent incidence of ADHD among children. For this reason, some government and public bodies have stopped the introduction of Wi-Fi in some public places and schools.

A number of organizations, including the Council of Europe, the European Environment Agency, UK Trades Union Congress, the International Commission for Electromagnetic Safety, and the Russian Commission for Electromagnetic Safety, have also given strong warnings about all technology that emits wireless radiation.

EMF Warnings:

The European Parliament voted to recommend tighter safety standards for mobile phones and other wireless technology. It points out in particular the need to "address vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, newborn babies and children".

The German government has issued warnings concerning digital cordless phones and baby monitors as well as Wi-Fi. German physicians appealed to persons in the field of health care, along with politicians and the public with "great concern" claiming "soaring incidences of symptoms and diseases in the general population" to be causally related to the "commence of radio [(wave)] burden", i.e. due to mobile radio technology, radar and similar hazards.

The Russian National Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection cited concern at the marketing of mobile phones to children and teenagers and has stated that it believes that the risk to children from mobile phones is not much lower than the risk to children’s health from tobacco or alcohol.

The Austrian Medical Association is lobbying against the deployment of Wi-Fi in schools, while the Public Health Department of Salzburg has warned that Wi-Fi should not be installed in schools or nurseries.

Libraries in France have imposed a moratorium on Wi-Fi networks in Paris have switched off Wi-Fi after staff reported ill effects.

Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reconsider its radiation standards.

Solid Science Linking EMF Exposure to Illness in Children

Autism

More and more researchers are looking at environmental causes as possible triggers for the soaring increase in new autism cases. One area that has been overlooked in the past that is now garnering more attention is our increasingly polluted electromagnetic environment.

According to a natural health expert Dr. Joseph Mercola, “Many researchers are now advocating for a shift in autism research to focus on environmental factors rather than genetics. Although genetics play a role in an estimated one percent of cases, the other 99 percent are still a mystery to conventional scientists. Likewise, to suggest this massive increase could be due to relaxed diagnosis criteria seems to be grasping at straws.” Mercola added.

Dietrich Klinghartd, a pioneer in natural medicine, considers EMF “synergistically causal," partly because it potentiates the production of toxic microbes and endotoxins. EMF exposure increases the toxicity of many already hazardous substances. For example, in a small study performed by Dr. Klinghardt, he showed that autism can actually be predicted based on the EMF levels of your sleeping quarters while you are pregnant. As part of the program, Dr. Klinghardt recommends you lower EMF burden in your child’s home and bedroom.

The BioInitiative Report 2012 links EMF Exposure to autism concluding:
Based on strong evidence for vulnerable biology, in autism, EMF/ Radio Frequency Radiation (RFR) can plausibly increase autism risk and symptoms. "While we aggressively investigate the links between autism disorders and wireless technologies, we should minimize wireless and EMF exposures for people with autism disorders, children of all ages, people planning a baby, and during pregnancy,” says Martha Herbert, MD, PhD.

The report went on to say: "Especially since EMF/RFR exposures are already classified as IARC 2B Possible Human Carcinogens, we should be actively investigating these sources of damage to DNA that could reasonably result in 'de novo mutations' but also be aware that common environmental exposures from EMF and RFR might play a role in the higher rates of concordance for autism (ASD) among twins and siblings."

ADD/ADHD

Recent research has indicated there may be a link between exposure to EMF pollution and the onset of ADD and ADHD.

At least thirty studies link ADD, those of poor concentration, lapses in (working) memory, difficulty learning, and slow reaction time when exposed to EMFs.

In well-conducted, blind studies Associate Professor Magda Havas at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario found significant links between "dirty electricity" in homes and schools and ADD/ADHD in children. It was shown that a reduction in “dirty electricity” by installing Graham-Stetzer filters lead to a decrease in lack of concentration issues, reduction of fuzzy thinking and less agitation in teachers – all symptoms associated with ADD/ ADHD. Havas also found a link between cordless digital phones and changes in the heart rate of 40% of subjects she tested.

Dr. Hugh Taylor, a medical professor and chief of Yale's Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, co-authored a 2012 study to probe the impact of cellphone exposure on pregnancies and concluded "Cellphone radiation exposure during pregnancy impacts fetal brain development and may cause hyperactivity".

In Switzerland, when examining school children, before and after turning on a nearby cell tower, for concentration problems, academic performance, and ADD, it was found that there was a significant increase in problems.

A Spanish study found that a single cellphone call, lasting just two minutes, can detrimentally alter the natural electrical activity of a child’s brain for up to an hour afterwards.

Asthma

Asthma is the leading cause of chronic illness in children. It affects more than one out of every 10 children and is steadily increasing. Scientists discovered that mobile phone frequencies increased the production of histamines, which are involved in allergic reactions and bronchial spasms. Asthma may also be related to an increase in the number of mast cells, which store and release irritating chemicals. It is thought that wireless technologies may increase the number of mast cells. Even normal household power frequencies (60Hz), may increase the risk for asthma, with childhood asthma also being linked to the power line magnetic field exposure of mothers during pregnancy.

One research study in a Wisconsin elementary school showed that asthma symptoms nearly disappeared when high levels of “dirty electricity” were reduced in classrooms. Of the 37 students at the school using asthma inhalers at the time of the study, afterwards, only three continued to need them, (and only in preparation for vigorous physical activity), once “dirty electricity” was reduced with Graham-Stetzer filters.

Childhood Cancers

A study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that was based on data representing 90 percent of the U.S. population, found cancer rates for children were highest in the Northeast U.S. The lead author of the study, Dr. Jun Li said: “Environmental factors might play a role, including exposure to [non-ionizing] radiation. Radiation has been linked with the most common types of childhood cancer -- leukemia, lymphoma and brain cancers.

Childhood Leukemia

David Carpenter, Dean at the School of Public Health, State University of New York, believes it is likely that up to 30% of all childhood cancers come from exposure to EMF.

In 2001, Ahlbom et al. conducted a review into EMFs and Health, and found that there was a doubling in childhood leukemia for magnetic fields of over 0.4 µT (4 milligauss).

In 2005 Draper et al. found a 70% increase in childhood leukemia for those living within 200 metres (656 ft) of an overhead transmission line, and a 23% increase for those living between 200 and 600 metres (656 and 1,969 ft).

The California Health Department of Health, EMF Program concluded: "EMFs from power lines, home wiring and appliances can cause some degree of increased risk of childhood leukemia as well as miscarriages, brain cancer and Lou Gehrig's disease.

Protect Yourself and Your Family from Harmful EMFs

If you are pregnant or have young children, making a concerted effort to reduce the amount of EMF pollution in the home is an investment in your children’s health since you and your children spend most of your time in your home, and can experience the majority of your EMF exposure there. To protect the health of you and your family, it is a good idea to have your home inspected for "dirty electricity", AC electric and AC magnetic fields and radio frequency radiation, while also installing Graham-Stetzer filters to remove "dirty electricity". During your EMF Home Inspection you can learn how to significantly reduce your EMF exposure using measurable, scientifically proven techniques.

We are all exposed to harmful EMFs in our homes but you can reduce your exposure greatly with an EMF home inspection